The story of Final Fantasy Resonance is the story of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius' first season, rewritten for a console RPG: same world, same opening catastrophe, reordered events and new scenes. How faithful that rewrite is belongs to our FFBE relationship page; this page is about the story itself, spoiler-managed.
The world of Lapis
Lapis is a world protected by eight elemental crystals, home to continental nations and species from humans to dwarves. Seven regions frame the journey:
| Region | What it is | Crystal |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of Grandshelt | The kingdom of knights, on the Grandshelt Isles | Earth |
| Dirnado, Continent of Wind | Industrial nation; its capital Dilmagia builds the world's airships | Wind |
| Olderion Federation | The aquapolis guarded by the Wardens of Waters | Water |
| Zoldaad Empire | A magitek military state mass-producing weapons | Fire |
| Mysidia | The secretive magiapolis of mages, believed by some to be a fairytale | Ice |
| Kingdom of Pharm | Listed among the world's regions | Unknown |
| Gronoa, the Shuttered Land | Listed among the world's regions | Unknown |
Airships, crystals, espers and moogles are woven into the fabric of the story, per the official store copy: this is a world built from classic Final Fantasy furniture.
The opening, spoiler-free
The official site tells the opening directly, and it is the best summary available:
The Kingdom of Knights, Grandshelt, lived in peace under the blessing of the crystals. Rain, commander of the airship squadron, receives a royal decree: investigate the Earth Shrine, whose protective barrier has weakened, with Lasswell, his childhood friend and deputy. In the shrine's innermost chamber the two meet a man in black armour, are overwhelmed by his power, and watch the Earth Crystal shatter before their eyes.
They survive, barely; the airship is wrecked and their comrades have fallen. Returning home, they find Grandshelt under attack by the same armoured man: Veritas of the Dark. They save the king, and lose again, worse. To protect the crystals scattered across the world, Rain and Lasswell set out in pursuit, joined by Fina, the mysterious girl they met in Grandshelt. None of them yet knows the fate waiting for them.
That is the whole of chapter one, which is exactly what the free demo lets you play.
The Sworn Six
Veritas of the Dark does not hunt alone. The Sworn Six of Paladia are six knights committed to destroying every crystal in Lapis, one per aspect: Dark, Heavens (wind), Waters, Flame, Earth and Light. The full roster with signatures is on the characters page. Their motive, and what Paladia is, are story questions the game doles out slowly.
Spoiler: the war 700 years ago
Everything below this line is prologue background that hands-on footage confirms sits in the game's opening hours. If you want to meet it in play, stop here and come back after the demo.
⚠️ Spoilers from here.
Seven hundred years before the main story, a great war burned the world into ruin. In one of its last battles, a woman called the Archwitch advanced on a castle's remains to destroy what was left of its defending army, and fought a mysterious dark knight. Backed by the world's crystals, she was nonetheless overwhelmed and sealed within the Earth Crystal; the knight vanished, presumed dead.
The connection between that seal, the crystal Veritas shatters in the present, and the girl who steps out of the crystal in Grandshelt, is the engine of the whole plot. The cast list bills the Archwitch as her own role with her own voice actors (Inori Minase and Corey Pettit), so the game clearly treats her as more than a flashback.
FAQ
Is the Final Fantasy Resonance story original?
It is a rewrite. The world, cast and opening catastrophe come from the first season of Brave Exvius, but the scenario was rewritten by the original writer for a console RPG, with reordered events, new scenes and a reworked ending. See our FFBE comparison.
Do I need to play Brave Exvius first?
No. Brave Exvius has ended service and cannot be played; Resonance retells its story from the beginning and stands entirely on its own.
Is the story the same as the mobile game's?
Beats and characters recur, but interviews state the scenario was rebuilt for console pacing: slower, with space for character backstories, reordered events and additional scenes, plus a rewritten ending.
How does the story connect to Final Fantasy 1?
It does not. The pixel-art language nods to the series' roots, but there is no story connection to Final Fantasy 1; the lineage that matters is Brave Exvius. The series background page untangles this properly.